With over 80 awards from the Public Relations Society of America, Carroll Strategies is a leading company for public relations in New Mexico and the Southwest.

One incident can spark a revolution. Last month, two black men hanging out at a Philadelphia Starbucks were denied use of the restrooms and asked to leave when they didn't buy anything. An employee called the cops and the men were arrested. The arrest was captured on video (of course!) and millions saw it. Starbucks later apologized and held anti-bias training for all employees. And NOW comes the new policy: anyone can sit at Starbucks, use the patios, seating area and restrooms, and not buy a thing. You can sit and not buy, as long as you want. Starbucks has taken a risk (too many people hanging out and not paying) but it reinforces its profile as a neighborhood place and deals with a big PR debacle.

As Albuquerque goes into the 2017 mayoral race, it’s clear from the latest Carroll Poll by Carroll Strategies Polling, that crime and the economy are front and center

In fact, many are so pessimistic about the economy, they fear their children or grandchildren will have to leave the city to find a job. Of respondents to the poll, 58.1 percent said they think their kids or grandkids will have to move to find quality employment. Only 15 percent said they expect their kids or grandkids to find jobs in Albuquerque.

The city’s biggest fear is according to the last Carroll Poll, done during the week of Feb 27, 2017, showed that 81.7 percent of Albuquerqueans believe that the crime is getting worse in the city, and 54 percent believe that the economy is not on the right track.

The results of the Carroll Poll, which included 853 respondents from Albuquerque, were broadcast by our partners at KOB TV on Friday night and Sunday night.

When it comes to issues in the upcoming mayoral race, which will be decided in nine months, 49.8 percent of respondents said that a safer community was their number one issue. Improving the economy came in second, with 21.6 percent, followed by improving education with 20.0 percent.

A whopping 81.7 percent of respondents to the Carroll Poll said that crime is getting better, with just 1.3 percent saying crime is getting better.

“I think they feel there is a potential cancer out there and that it is growing, and that is the crime issue,” Carroll Strategies President Tom Carroll told KOB. “They want to feel safe in their home.”

When it comes to the economy, most respondents said that don’t have confidence in the city’s future, with 54 percent saying the economy is not going well, with only 18 percent saying it is going well.

“The people who have children or grandchildren believe, four-to-one, that those children have to go somewhere else for a job and a career. We’re going to have to give them jobs and opportunities,” Carroll told KOB.

Ever since the NFL was formed many years ago, people have tried to create other football leagues to rival the NFL, but without a real challenge. Well, now comes the Pacifica Pro Football League, on the west coast, for players coming right out of high school who don't want to go to college. This new league could have really great players who want to make some money right away. In fact, some are speculating that it's really a strategy to force colleges to pay money to its players so they don't lose them to the new league. They're using the massive media attention to make their case to the public.

DO YOU NEED A PR OR ADVERTISING STRATEGY? CALL US AT 505-842-6600 OR GO TO CARROLLSTRATEGIES.NET.

Happy New Year and here's the first Strategy of the Week for 2017. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, where announcements are commonplace, Acer has grabbed the headlines with the announcement of a new $9,000 laptop. That, my friends, is a high-end piece of hardware, the Ferrari of laptops. Launching next month in the U.S., the Predator 21X retails for $8,999 and goes up from there (really). It comes with huge power, eye-tracking, a curved screen (a first), a full-sized keyboard, four speakers and two subwoofers. All that spells out branding power more than anything. If you're the Ferrari of laptops, you must be good. Oh, and if that's too much money, you can buy the updated Predator 17X for only $2599. What a deal. Acer has grabbed buzz, social media audience, and lots of brand enhancement with its announcement.

A restaurant in New York has a new strategy - tables for one. In order to set itself apart from a crowded city restaurant scene, Ichiran restaurant has created an eatery where everyone eats alone. You get a booth for one, and it's facing the wall. And it's a silent restaurant, which might be because you, well, eat alone. The only sound you hear is the sound of slurping of noodles. The new concept has been drawing big crowds, because a lot of people like to eat alone but feel uncomfortable doing so in restaurants. It's being called a "haven for solo diners." It's getting great press coverage for a new idea. That's the strategy of the week.

Facebook is taking on eBay and Craigslist. This week, a new icon showed up on the bottom of the mobile Facebook app, called Facebook Marketplace. In its ever-increasing bid to become more indispensable, Facebook's new strategy is to go after both eBay and Craigslist customers.

It's hard to say if the strategy will work, but many people have a distrust of Craigslist because of the scams and sketchy offers that can flood the classified ad site. Many who use eBay, too, have seen items shipped broken, late, or not at all. With Facebook, you connect directly to the seller, can see their picture and profile, and can interact directly with them, adding a layer of trust other sites can't promise.

Locally, you can buy everything from a delivered plate of Carnitas ($10) or a Subaru Outback ($2,200). Already, guns and illicit drugs ($10 for a gram of Tutti Fruitti marijuana, for example) are for sale locally, despite Facebook saying it would not allow guns or drugs to be sold.

Regardless, the new shopping site will offer those who like to browse online a new avenue, with an added layer of trust, that other sites can't promise.

New Carroll Strategies Poll shows support for trial against officers involved in shooting of James Boyd

Many, however, don't believe officers will get a fair trial

Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 21, 2016 - The newest Carroll Strategies Poll by Carroll Strategies, an Albuquerque Public Relations firm, shows that 94.8% of local residents are aware of the 2014 shooting by two officers of homeless camper James Boyd. But, the poll also shows that only 50.1% of residents agree with the District Attorney's decision to press charges.

The poll, done Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 20 and 21, was an auto-response poll of 403 residents of Albuquerque. It has a margin of error of 4.88%.

"The poll shows that nearly the entire city is aware of the shooting, and the trial," said Tom Carroll, president of Carroll Strategies. "It also shows that while many support the DA's decision to press charges, not everyone is in support of the move. It also shows that the nearly a third of Albuquerque residents don't support Department of Justice oversight over APD, nearly two years after an agreement was signed."

The Carroll Poll also asked about public support for the state incentives used to lure the new Facebook Data Center to Los Lunas.

Some of the key findings of the September Carroll Poll include:

94.8% of the public was aware of the shooting

45.7% believe they can receive a fair trial

50.1% agree with the DA that charges should have been filed

69.2% think the trial will hurt the reputation of APD regardless of the verdict

52.1% believe the Department of Justice should provide oversight to APD

Tom Carroll

53.1% believe the cost was too high to secure the Facebook data Center

Samsung had a problem that no company wants to have. Samsung Note 7 phones were blowing up. Well, 35 phones blew up worldwide and caused phone fires. The U.S. and EU ordered passengers not to use their phones in flight and the Product Safety Commission told people to turn off their phones and not use them. Clearly, this was a crisis for Samsung. So Samsung did what we would have recommended - it stopped sales and ordered a worldwide recall of the phones. It also offered a $25 gift card as a "gesture of appreciation." Companies often see crisis situations as terrible for PR, but Samsung saw it as an opportunity to "put safety first." Now, instead of a PR nightmare, Samsung looks like a good company. It will emerge stronger than before it happened. That's how you handle a crisis.

Tom Carroll's Strategy of the Week:San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick made a stand this weekend against oppression and police brutality by refusing to stand for the National Anthem before an exhibition game. “This country stands for freedom, liberty, justice for all,” he said, “and it’s not happening for all right now.” Then he said he would not stand again for the National Anthem until conditions improve.

As far as a strategy to highlight his vision of racism and “oppression” in this country, it worked pretty well, as it hit the media and most Americans now know about his position. But as far as a personal strategy goes, it might go down in flames. Protests have been lodged by fans, players are against him, and Kaepernick’s jersey has been burned around the nation.

We advise strategies that highlight your issue without killing your career. If this goes on for long, the 49er could see protests against him wherever he goes. He could lose his job, his career, and his paycheck. He’s painted himself in a corner, because conditions aren’t going to improve tomorrow.

So what to do? Well, Colin, you should fix a timeline for the protest, maybe three or four weeks. Say, “I wanted to bring attention to the issue” but don’t let it drag on forever and get yourself cut from the team. Say you love the country but just wanted to highlight an injustice. Then you make your point and get out of it with your job. That’s how to handle a crisis.

Tom Carroll's Strategy of the Week: It doesn’t get much worse than this for Ryan Lochte, who was on top of the world before he said, as the joke does, “Here, hold my gold medal while I go in and trash this Brazilian restroom, and then lie about it.” Ryan violated our first commandment, “Never Lie.” And in doing so made things much much worse. Now Speedo, the only real endorsement that matters in swimming, dropped him. So what should he do now? Well, America loves a second chance, but to get one he must show some humility and help others for a change. America will let him work off his sentence, so to speak, and then welcome him back if he shows true commitment to people.

In the Carroll Poll, a public opinion survey out last week, we asked registered voters across the city of Albuquerque about their feelings about ART, or the Albuquerque Rapid Transit proposal.

The $119 million project will provide better mass transit and more pedestrian-friendly city streets, according to the backers of the proposal, or more congestion, construction woes, and fewer customers for businesses along Central Avenue, according to opponents of the plan. We did our Carroll Poll to get the sentiments of the voters. Here’s what they said, in a 421 sample poll over July 2-3rd.

•87.5% knew about the proposed plan, a remarkably high number.

•28% supported ART, while 56% opposed it.

•42% said they will not go to the area during construction, 35% said they will.

•22% said they will use ART when it’s done, 68% said they won’t.

•25% said ART would benefit the economy, 57% said it wouldn’t.

•78% said it should go to the voters for approval, 12% said it shouldn’t.

The Carroll Poll takes the pulse of the voters in an independent, non-partisan way. Stay tuned for more Carroll Polls in the months to come.